Latest news with #EllenRoome
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Mother who fears her son died taking part in an online challenge battles for changes to the government's Data Bill
A mother fighting for changes to the government's Data Bill said she won't stop until she gets answers as to why her son killed himself. Ellen Roome has been campaigning to change the law since her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney took his own life three years ago. Ms Roome, 48, has been campaigning for an amendment to the law that would force social media companies such as Snapchat and Meta to give bereaved parents access to their child's data in the event of their death. Jools was found dead in his bedroom after taking his own life but a coroner was unable to confirm if he was in a suicidal mood before his death. Ms Roome from Cheltenham, said Jools did a 'lot of online challenges' and fears he fell victim to a 'dangerous' one such as Blackout which linked to the deaths of dozens of young people. MPs passed The Data (Use and Access) Bill last week, but the change proposed by Ms Roome was not voted on. The proposed bill would allow bereaved parents to request their child's user data from up to 12 months before their death. Ms Roome met with ministers on Thursday to discuss the amendment - and she is hopeful the law will go further in allowing parents access to data from their children's phones. She said: '[They] Ministers made it perfectly clear that they had listened to me and that they would take on board what I said. 'I met the Ministers who confirmed the Data Bill process that once a child dies that they can automatically preserve a request of data from Ofcom and then Ofcom will request to preserve data for a child that has died, which is really positive news for children going forward. '90 days and the data goes off the phone - I know of another mum whose phone is sitting on a queue waiting to be looked at. That's not good enough - it needs to be preserved within days so that social media companies can't delete it and that data is there in case it is needed. 'I did raise that we need some training with regards to the police and the coroner assistant to make that they know how it is actually done. All the police forces get different training which I think it is crazy in England. They should have centralised training that they all get trained the same way. 'How do you make sure the coroner's know how to request it is my next battle but hopefully that will happen.' In Jools' case - police did not access his phone until months after his death a when data had been deleted. Ms Roome has since been campaigning to get access to Jools' social media data. She said: 'I kind of hoped, naively, that I thought the coroner might say that they could re-do his inquest, but I can't do that without a legal battle of High Court. 'I'm hoping a nice barrister might come forward and offer to do some pro bono work for me. 'Not getting answers of how my son died seems wrong.' Some social media companies told her that they cannot release the data because of issues around privacy and others have said they would only do so if a court order was given. She said: 'I have raised some money which I used - twenty thousand pounds for forensics - but I need the data service from the social media companies because when we did forensics there was massive gaps in the data that we could get from the phone. 'I need the social media companies to release that data to me and that's frustrating that social media companies have information on my child that I can't access and whilst there is a possibility it might get the answers as to why Jools ended his own life I need to try that. 'It is the only piece that we haven't looked at.'
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Mum Ellen Roome won't stop fighting for data law change
A bereaved mother who is campaigning for an amendment to the government's Data Bill has said she will not stop until she understands why her son took his own Roome's 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney took his own life in 2022 in what she believed was a social media has been campaigning to get an amendment to the law that would force social media companies to give bereaved parents access to their child's data in the event of their death and this week met with government ministers to discuss the proposal."The Data Bill is a good thing and it will help people and [the government] look certainly like they're trying to make it work for people," said Ms Roome. "I think they will listen again if it doesn't work and I'll make a lot of noise about it if it doesn't," she added."For me, I don't want to stop. I'd like to try to understand why my son is not here."MPs passed The Data (Use and Access) Bill last week, but the change proposed by Ms Roome was not voted proposed bill would allow bereaved parents to request their child's user data from up to 12 months before their phone data is automatically deleted after 90 days. 'I just don't understand what happened' In Jools' case - police did not access his phone until months after his death and weeks after the data had been Roome from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, has since been campaigning to get access to Jools' social media social media companies told her that they cannot release the data because of issues around privacy and others have said they would only do so if a court order was given."I want it compulsory that when a child dies, social media data is automatically preserved and requested and not just that it might happen if it's asked for," said MS Roome."I haven't really been able to grieve and I don't know whether that would allow me to."I just don't understand what happened to my seemingly normal 14-year-old and that's what's so wrong."The government's Online Safety Minister, Baroness Jones, said that the government had introduced "new legislation on data preservation orders to make sure that social media accounts are frozen so that families in the future, if there is a tragic death of a child, can get access," but that "coroners will need to access that information." Positive steps Under the new bill, coroners have more power to request data from social media providers but only they have the power to do so."I think it's really positive and the Data Bill will help newly bereaved parents so long as they request and preserve that data," Ms Roome told BBC Breakfast."That's been my argument the whole way through. Unless the police get some training and the coroners actually ask for that information you will have parents like me that didn't ask for the data." The new proposals will not affect Ms Roome's situation, as an inquest into Jools' death has already she wanted another inquest, she would have to go through the High meeting with ministers, Ms Roome said she left feeling "disappointed" and that whilst she sees improvement, they are "little steps and little steps for other people" but she "doesn't get an answer for Jools." Ms Roome has previously joined campaigners in the US and said she had received messages about her work from all over the world."I've always said that if I can use Jools' story to make a difference to one other person then it's worth sharing.""If that awareness has helped people educate their children on what to look for then it's worth doing," she added."I hope there's a little boy somewhere feeling very proud [of me]."
ITV News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Bereaved mother continues fight for change in data laws after teenage son took his own life
The mother of a Cheltenham teenager who took his own life says a change in the law doesn't go far enough in allowing bereaved parents access to data from their children's phones. Ellen Roome has been fighting for a change in law since her 14-year-old son, Jools Sweeney, took his own life in April 2022. Ellen believes her son took part in an online challenge that went wrong, but she has never been able to access his phone's data. The bereaved mother has been fighting for a change in law which would allow families to access user data from up to 12 months before the date of their loved one's death. The Data (Use and Access) Bill was passed by MPs on Wednesday, but the change proposed by Ellen was not voted on. The changes voted through by MPs will now give coroners the right to request data within 90 days of a child dying, but Ellen says this does not go far enough. She said: "If coroners or police don't request that data, then you'll have parents in my situation wondering what happened to their child". She said if social media companies gave bereaved parents access to their child's data and a harmful trend had a role to play in their death, parents and coroners could "stop it happening to other children". Speaking yesterday in the House of Commons Liberal Democrat MP Max Wilkinson raised the case of his Cheltenham constituent. Mr Wilkinson, spoke about the proposed amendment to the Data Bill, and said: 'In her search for answers, Ellen found herself blocked by social media giants that placed process ahead of compassion. "The police had no reason to suspect a crime so did not see a reason to undertake a full investigation into Jools' social media." 'We will do everything we possibly can to ensure coroners understand both their powers and their duties in this regard, how they should be operating with families and the prosecuting authorities as well, if necessary, but also that the technical companies embrace this point that they need to look after the families of those who have lost loved ones when they're young.' Ellen feels the 90 day timeframe for coroners to request data is too short and doesn't take into consideration the emotional turmoil parents are going through after losing a loved one. Ellen said: "When your child dies, you're in no fit state to do anything, you can barley sleep or function and in my case, I didn't have any fight, and I'm a fighter. "To put the onus on the parents to do that, you're not in a fit state to do that, it took me two years to request the data, I just couldn't do it. I was crawling on my hands and knees just trying to go to bed." Ellen is now fighting to ensure that police and coroners have a clear procedure in place to make sure data is requested in that 90 day timeframe. "I need them to change the system, I don't want any other parent to be in my situation", she told ITV News. In a statement the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said the government is "committed to helping bereaved families get the answers they need". 'No family should have to experience the devastating consequences of losing a child", it read. 'In tragic cases where a child's death is linked to social media, under the Online Safety Act coroners will have the power to demand relevant data from platforms. "This material can then be shared with relevant person's where appropriate, such as parents. "We are also strengthening these powers through new data laws to ensure information can be preserved after a child's death to facilitate investigations. 'We are committed to helping bereaved families get the answers they need. "We will continue to engage with platforms to ensure they are prepared for new laws and to identify any remaining barriers to retaining data in such tragic cases.'
BBC News
08-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Bereaved mother 'drained' by campaign to change social media law
A bereaved mother said she is feeling "emotionally drained" from her ongoing campaign calling for tech companies to hand over data after a person dies. Ellen Roome, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, has been fighting for a change in law since her 14-year-old son, Jools Sweeney, took his own life in April 2022. Ms Roome believes his death could have been linked to an online challenge gone amendment, called Jools' Law, would allow families to access user data from up to 12 months before the date of their loved one's Data (Use and Access) Bill was passed by MPs on Wednesday, but the change proposed by Ms Roome was not voted on. Some social media companies told Ms Roome that they cannot release the data because of issues around privacy. Others have said they would only do so if a court order was given. Although Ms Roome was left feeling "frustrated" by the outcome on Wednesday, she said a change allowing coroners to request the data from social media companies is a "positive" step, providing it definitely happens. Sir Chris Bryant, the Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms said the government will "do everything we possibly can" to ensure coroners understand their powers and duties outlined in the new added that he hopes tech companies embrace the change too and understand that they need to "look after" families who have lost loved ones. Ms Roome said that Jools' social media is the one thing that was not investigated after his death. "There was nothing offline when Jools died - there was no bullying, no mental health issues."We didn't look at a vital piece of evidence that could have given us answers." Later this month, she has a meeting with the Home Office and the Minister of Justice who is in charge of the coronial system to discuss the new bill. In the future, Ms Roome hopes that other grieving families will not be left in her situation. "I'm three years down the line with my 14-year-old child who's no longer here, with no answers to understand why on earth he did what he did and that's very frustrating. "I know of other parents going through the same situation right now and I look at them and think 'you are going to end up like me unless we change the system.' "That's where it's fundamentally wrong, in my opinion," she said.
The Independent
30-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
As UK families grieve, can one determined country stop social media harming children?
Ellen Roome has said more than once that if her son had been hit by a car, his death would have at least made some kind of sense. But after finding 14-year-old Jools dead in his room on a night in April 2022, she is still searching for answers. 'Not one person in Jools' life thought there was a problem. Not one teacher, not one adult, not one child,' Ms Roome says nearly three years later. Her crusade is now squarely aimed at social media, and after finding out about the deaths of other British teenagers in similar circumstances, she has joined a group of parents suing TikTok over a dangerous online 'blackout' challenge they believe their children took part in. Ms Roome has tried to access her son's social media accounts to see the content he was looking at before his death, but says she's been blocked by the platforms. 'I thought, well, we're responsible for a minor. Why on earth can't we see what he's looking at?' In the past week, the grief of another family involved in the action against TikTok was made plain before a coroner, who is investigating the death of Maia Walsh, a 13-year-old girl found dead in her Hertford bedroom in October 2022 after seeing concerning content on the platform. Months before, she had commented: 'I don't think I'll live past 14.' Harrowing tales like these have sparked a debate over the best ways to protect children from social media harms. The government is already facing criticism that new laws in force ordering tech companies to remove dangerous content are not robust enough, while prime minister Sir Keir Starmer batted away a Conservative push for a blanket phone ban in schools as 'wasting time' and 'completely unnecessary'. Labour backbencher Josh MacAlister's fight to place age restrictions on Facebook, TikTok, and similar platforms was shot down by technology minister Peter Kyle. But in Australia, parents' anxiety over their children's exposure to an unsupervised online world has shaped concrete government action: a ban on teenagers under the age of 16 from accessing social media. The new laws, which have been given a year to take effect, are a litmus test for a society growing increasingly fearful of the harms faced by children on their smartphones, including violent radicalisation, misogyny, eating disorders, and bullying. 'We know social media is doing social harm,' Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said upon introducing the legislation in November. 'We want Australian children to have a childhood, and we want parents to know the government is in their corner.' But alongside the question of whether the government should bar children from the platforms is the question of whether it actually can, as doubts are raised over the effectiveness of systems designed to restrict the ages of their users. Age Check Certification Scheme founder Tony Allen believes a ban is absolutely possible. The UK-based company has been tasked by the Australian government with undertaking a trial of age assurance technology - so far involving 55 participants and 62 different systems - that will underpin the success of the scheme. Mr Allen says age assurance is split into three categories: age verification, linked to proving someone's date of birth; age estimation which analyses a person's biometric data such as their pulse and facial features; and age inference, which assumes someone's age based on a particular qualifier - like owning a credit card. 'You have to be over 18 to be able to be issued with a credit card… so the reasonableness of the inference is the law requires you to be over 18. You're therefore likely to be over 18,' he says. However, he qualifies that whatever the system chosen by the government would involve a never-ending catch-up game to fend off those finding new ways to get around it. 'There's a lot of work going on on how you detect deep-fakes and injection attacks,' he says, explaining the latter 'injects code right behind the camera, right and then tricks the system into thinking it's looking at you, and it's not'. Another pitfall is the tendency of some artificial intelligence to discriminate against people of colour by assuming they're younger than they actually are, according to Professor Toby Walsh, chief scientist at the University of New South Wales's AI Institute. But Prof Walsh, who is independently overseeing the trial, is broadly optimistic. He has likened the ban to age restrictions on smoking and drinking in that, while it is unlikely to be flawless, it could be a major driver in forcing cultural change. 'You go behind the bicycle sheds, maybe at school, you will find people smoking cigarettes. Young people will find ways to access alcohol. But we have made it difficult, and we have made it illegal to provide tobacco and alcohol to people underage, and that has changed the conversation around those things,' he says. Despite the legislation passing in November with opposition support, the approach has been sharply criticised by independent MPs and the Greens, as well as human rights organisations, who have warned it will leave marginalised teenagers, such as those in the LGBTQ+ community without a place to interact. Contributing to the criticism is Andy Burrows, CEO of Molly Rose Foundation, a suicide prevention charity set up following the death of British teenager Molly Russell, who took her own life after viewing toxic content online. ' Banning under-16s from social media is a backwards step that would push risks and bad actors onto gaming and messaging services and leave young people at a cliff edge of harm when they turn 16,' Mr Burrows says. "Children should not be punished for the failures of tech platforms nor the delayed response from successive governments. Our young people's safety deserves strong, effective solutions to complex problems." Unsurprisingly, the social media giants targeted by the law are also opposed to what they claim is a rushed bill that will fail to achieve its goals. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, argued before an Australian parliamentary inquiry into the legislation that the evidence didn't support a blanket ban and it was unclear what 'reasonable steps' companies needed to take to bar children from their platforms to avoid nearly $50 million (£24.4 million) penalties. 'This ambiguity is problematic as understanding a person's real age on the internet is a complex challenge,' the company's submission reads. However, Australia's eSafety commissioner and former industry insider, Julie Inman-Grant, says she has already spent years calling on tech companies to be more proactive in addressing the harms on their platforms. 'It's not as though they haven't been given the chance,' she says. 'But age assurance in isolation is not enough. We also need to keep the pressure on the tech industry to ensure their services are safer and our systemic transparency powers and codes and standards are already having an effect in this area.' The outspoken Ms Inman-Grant, who last month described Elon Musk as an 'unelected bureaucrat', was involved in a high-profile court dispute last year with X over the proliferation of a video on the platform that showed the stabbing of a controversial Sydney preacher. It later surfaced that Southport killer Axel Rudakubana had viewed the video before carrying out his notorious attack. Prof Walsh concedes he is concerned about the willingness of American tech giants to comply with the new laws amid the shifting political climate in the US. 'The US-centric policies coming out of North America these days are certainly troubling,' he says, before turning to a precautionary principle enshrined in European law to support Australia's trajectory. 'We have been running a very interesting, but somewhat concerning, experiment on human society, especially the young people in human society... we are obliged to take a precautionary approach to the potential harmful effects.' Despite the unknowns, Ellen Roome is supportive of what Australia is trying to pull off - in fact, she says it doesn't go far enough. 'Just get rid of it. It's not fit for children. It should be 18, in my opinion,' she says. Earlier this month the UK's own online safety legislation came into force. Its primary goal is to make social media companies prevent and remove harmful content such as extremist and child-abuse material from being published on their platforms. The Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology says the bill will make the UK 'the safest place in the world to be a child online'. However, during that same time, provisions in a Labour backbencher's private member's bill to force social media companies to exclude teenagers under 16 from their algorithms were watered down to a commitment to researching the issue. But Ms Roome says that in that time children will continue to access harmful material: 'How much more research do you need?' If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@ or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
